The installation of tiles, floor boards, etc. is associated with much time and effort on the one hand, and leaves many problems unresolved on the other hand. For example, it is possible only with much difficulty to obtain a reliable seal between the surface of the tiles and the sub-surface with the connecting materials currently in use, such as mortar, adhesive etc. Furthermore, tile or plate elements can be removed from the sub-surface only with substantial time and effort. The removal of plate elements from the sub-surface is necessary, for example, when tiles or floor boards need to be replaced in showroom kitchens, when tiles or floor boards have to be replaced in a residential house, etc.
A method of fixing panels to a sub-surface is known from DE 40 26 472 C2. In connection with such fastening, a plastic layer with elevations and/or recesses is applied to the backsides of the panels, and a coating with recesses and/or elevations is provided on the sub-surface, whereby the elevations and/or recesses of the coating correspond with those of the plastic layer in such a way that they clamp together, so that the panels can be press-fit onto the coating layer of the sub-surface and are securable thereon in a form-fit manner. The coating layer that can be secured on the sub-surface is formed, for example, by means of a shaped foil made of polypropylene or ABS that, for example, can be nailed to the sub-surface. The elevations and/or recesses may be configured in such a manner that they easily engage each other by means of undercuts. A characteristic feature of the known type of fastening is that the panels have to be individually provided with the plastic layer, which is expensive. Furthermore, it is not possible to re-position the panels pressed onto the sub-surface due to the engagement between the recesses and the elevations, which are arranged in a grid-like configuration, so that it is not possible, for example, to compensate for tolerances existing between tiles.
A similar detachable fixing of tiles to a sub-surface is known from DE OS 1 926 226, where the sub-surface and the backsides of the tiles are each provided with a profiled support plate, whereby the profiled support plates are provided with projections and recesses that engage each other in a locking manner with an undercut and can be elastically deformed, so that they are detachable.